Falling for Your Opposite
by axhLii
Summary: She meets him at a tree, bumps her head, sleeps with him, becomes his partner, and wages a war. They are yin and yang, fire and ice, and they could never EVER be together..until they find out..he's betrothed to her. Oh, chaos.
1. Fate

**She's In Love With a Jerk, He's In Love With an Idiot**

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

_She's a sweetheart, he's a hottie. _

_She's an angel, he's a devil. _

_She's heaven, he's hell. _

_She's in love with a jerk, he's in love with an idiot._

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

**Chapter 1: ****Fate**

**:-:**

_**31st August, 2008**_

**:-:**

She grudgingly trudged back up to her room feeling angry and turning red with suppressed rage at her mother. She's never let her choose. She was in deep thought as she took fast steps that would lead her to the safety of her only haven: her room.

She had long brunette hair that reached up to her spine, beautifully alluring hazel orbs that was slightly distorted with held-back tears. She was tall for a fifteen-year-old, and had an absolutely stunning figure. She had a smooth face that was somehow ruptured by the fact that she was very sad. She just kept her head up and fought the tears dying to escape her eyelids.

After climbing three flights of stairs, walking five long hallwaysand passing at least fifty doors, she finally came to a halt infront of a door with a brass plaque stuck up to it that read:

**SAKURA MIKAN**

**Daughter of Sakura Akira and Azumi Yuka**

**Heiress to **_**Innovations, Inc.**_

She merely grunted at the plaque and turned it over, now to reveal a handwriting that read:

**"I'm no different."**

Upon seeing the turned-over plaque, a radiant smile graced her face her true beauty has been revealed. She just smiled and opened the door that led her to her sanctuary. A ginormous room that it was, it had metallic black carpet, crimson walls, and state-of-the-art furnitures that were accented with whites. Her bed, which was as long as two limousines put end to end and which was as wide as an elephant, was an unbelievable work of technology. She fell face down on her bed and muffled her screams under the thick comforters and laid still for more than a minute. After coming out of her reverie, she took a huge remote control from her nightstand and pressed several seemingly random buttons which apparently controlled her whole room. Press this and the blinds shut themselves out, blocking the view of the city lights at night. Another press of this and her room suddenly fills up with light, another press gets the stereo surround system up in full blast, another final press boots her personal computer. Man, it was a highly advanced room and it's a miracle she even gets around.

She faced her computer, opened the calendar, and eyed it carefully. She then took her laptop from under the drawer of her computer table and marked September 1. With it was a note.

**"Gakuen Alice. My curse."**

She then set the alarms at 3 am and closed her eyes as she once again plopped down her bed. She just said, "Tomorrow, I'll be leaving this purgatory and off to hell. Great. Just great. Gakuen Alice."

And she finally drifted off to sleep.

**:-:**

**The next morning, ** she awoke with a start to the loud ring of her alarm clock. She was staring blankly into space and just one thought entered her mind right then and there.

"I'm going to Gakuen Alice."

She then got to her feet and headed straight to her bathroom. She cleansed herself, all the time bracing herself for the horro that was in store for her that day. She left her bathroom fully dressed in simple skirt that reached one inch above her knees, a pale yellow hoodie above a white fit t-shirt, and knee-high stockings and sneakers. She was apt at maintaining a low-profile, and she barely spoke of her family to her friends.

She rode the elevator to go 10 floors down to the dining area. Their mansion was more like a skyscraper, but it really is just a residential home which also served as a home to all the residential inventors and researchers and who-knows-who-else. She was greeted by people she barely even knew, and was regarded as a treasure. She was, after all, the only daughter of the biggest technological productions company in Japan AND in the world. No wonder.

Although her status to the public is like this, she always kept her feet on the ground. She was nowhere near her braggy father, and she was hell even farther than her socialite mother. For her, she was just Mikan. Sakura Mikan. A simple girl. Being rich doesn't make you special, it just makes you different. That's what she feels.

She entered the dining area only to find her mother still poring over the same stack of papers. Her mother looked at her upon entering the room and immediately proceeded to chiding over her get-up.

"You are going to a private school, young lady! An exclusive private school! And you're wearing that? Go change into something more acceptable!"

"Mother! It takes 45 minutes to get down here and that doesn't include the walking! I am NOT gonna change!" she answered back, taking one piece of toast, a cup of coffee, and telling one of the butlers to get her luggage.

"I'm leaving. _Goodbye_, Mother," she said brusquely, emphasizing largely over the word _goodbye_.

**:-:**

The ride took an hour atleast, and she was now standing at the front gate of the most prestigious school in Tokyo. The driver insisted on taking her through the gates, but she just told the driver to leave her at the outside and leave the rest to her. She didn't want anyone to know anything about her.

Someone was already waiting for her outside. She could have guessed it was a man, but then he was wearing an outrageous dress, and she was staring at him in complete befuddlement. She just didn't get it.

"Miss Sakura?" he asked. He was a blonde-haired person with beautiful lavender eyes and he was a few inches taller than Mikan. Seeing as Mikan was 5 feet 4 inches, he must have been around 5 feet 10". He was wearing what seemed like a quilt or a skirt, whichever one of those, and his looks were too womanly to have been a male. Thus, when she was asked by the guy, she didn't know how to address him.

"Miss Sakura?" the person asked again. Mikan was so distracted at the man's apperance that she dumbly asked,

"Are you a man?"

**:-:**

**Mikan's thoughts**

So, he was a man. He said his name was Narumi, and I just stood there and smiled. He kept laughing at me for thinking he was a woman. Hell, who on earth would ever think of him as a guy? Just look at the damn thing he's wearing!

I entered the gates, Narumi by my side. He said he was one of the teachers of the gakuen, and although he was obviously intent on talking to me and making me listen, I was nowhere near him mentally. I was too preoccupied with my surroundings and I could hardly believe it. _This is MY school?_

Then, out of nowhere, I had this crazy idea of leaving Narumi alone.

**Back to reality.**

"Narumi-sensei?" asked Mikan.

"Eh?" came Narumi's reply. He was at the middle of his speech, and was quite taken aback by Mikan's sudden interruption.

"You can leave me now," she said, giving him her brightest smile. Narumi looked shocked for a moment but recovered his poise almost immediately.

"Well,then, Mi-chan. Please don't wander off too far, ne? I don't want your mother to sue me," Narumi said, and although Mikan knew he was just kidding about the sue part, she was slightly frozen: so. Narumi knew about her family. She turned her back to Narumi but turned back at him and said in a hushed voice, "Please don't tell anybody about my parentage and who I am."

Narumi just looked at her and then flashed her a big smile.

"Of course, I won't Mi-chan. Promise."

And she smiled and left.

* * *

She spent the whole day exploring the huge academy. She went to the Central town, to the high school building where she was about to go schooling every single day, and finally decided to walk the "Sakura Path" that they called. It was a real thrill for her to walk a path that had the same name as her. And as she went to follow the path, bravery and curiousity got the best of her and she decided to step out of the path. She walked along the Sakura trees. It seemed like a forest and it was already midday. She was hungry beyond belief and her stomach was already rumbling. Shame she gave Narumi her luggage. Her lunch was there. She was now tired as well, but despite her situation now, she was happy. Back at home she could never have done this. She was much too sheltered. And although she didn't like going to an exclusive school for rich kids, she was contented with the way things are right now.

At last, she settled under a Sakura tree that caught her attention the most. She plopped herself under it and closed her eyes. There was something about the tree that made it so special to her in one glance...Perhaps it was the beautiful ambiance that the Sakura petals gave, or maybe the comforting silence wrapped around it...or maybe..._just maybe..._

A deep, cold male voice suddenly interrupted her train of thoughts.

"Who are you?"

She opened her eyes abruptly at the sound of the voice and asked, "Why?"

"Because you're sitting in MY tree, you idiot," replied the voice again.

"Where are you? And why do you call it _your_ tree? Does it have your name on it?" she asked, annoyed at the bragginess of the guy.

"Turn around, youjo. My name's written on it."

She turned around and saw a carving on the tree's trunk. It said _Hyuuga Natsume._

"Oh, Natsume huh?" she asked bemusingly.

The voice suddenly turned rough and sounded angry.

"Get out of this place."

"I will only if you show yourself."

"Now."

"Nope. Show yourself."

"Go away!"

"No."

Finally. It seems like the boy finally gave in. She looked around for any sign of the boy, then suddenly, from somewhere above, a handsome boy appeared.

He had beautiful crimson orbs that seemd hypnic and had a tall, well built body. He was really gorgeous. Adding to that was his raven hair.

"Go."

Mikan just stood there unable to say anything. She was entranced by his looks. She was evidently unconsciously swooning over him and she was just frozen.

"Youjo, don't swoon."

She came out of her reverie and just said, "Sorry for having interrupted you, Hyuuga-san." After that, she turned her back and was planning on leaving until she had just registered what he had said. _Youjo, don't swoon_. She turned back at him and said

"I did NOT swoon!" and turned around and left again until,

"Call me Natsume."

She froze in her tracks again and she looked back at Natsume. His face was impasive and she couldn't really read him well right now, but she knew that she had a certain connection with the guy, no matter how cold he was.

She turned around to face him again and just said,

"I'm Mikan. Nice to meet a jerk like you, Natsume."

"Nicer to have met you, _ichigo-kara,_" said Natsume, giving her a malicious smirk. She turned red with embarrassment and pointed a finger at him disbelievingly.

"You?! How-?Why-?" she stuttered, unable to say anything she wanted to say at Natsume.

"You showed it to me, baka," replied Natsume, still with the horrible smirk plastered on his face.

Mikan shook her head and her eyebrows were now tightly furrowed.

"I actually THOUGHT we could be FRIENDS!" she sceamed before turning her back on him. She walked away as fast as she could, but not fast enough not to hear him say,

"Next time, pick more _mature_ prints, ichigo. The next time, I might see you in polka dots."

She kept walking as her thoughts battled with her conscience on whether or not to kill Natsume Hyuuga.

_And to think I ACTUALLY thought him NICE AND SOPHISTICATED_!

She kept walking without looking at where she was headed to until...

**WHAM!**

She LITERALLY walked into a tree and banged her head. Unfortunately, she was only feet away from Natsume Hyuuga.

* * *

GUYS!

I am sorry if you didn't like this first chapter, but then again, it's only the first.

Please RxR.

Tell me if you like it, ne?

This chappie's more on introduction, so there's not much NxM scenes just quite yet.

Please wait...k?

PWETTYPWETTYPWEASE?

:)

**ash.**


	2. Horrible First Day

**Chapter 2: Horrible First Day**

* * *

**:-:-:****:-:-:****:-:-:****:-:-:****:-:-:**

**Ne, guys! I didn't think you'd really like it much!**

**Thanks for the appreciation! :))**

**:-:-:****:-:-:****:-:-:****:-:-:****:-:-:**

* * *

**Mikan got up slowly from bed** only to find herself in a vaguely familiar room: black carpet, crimson walls, and except for the white furniture, it seemed like she was back at home. She looked around and saw that the bed she was in wasn't the same as her bed at home. She couldn't remember anything except...

**:-:-:**

_She kept walking without looking at where she was headed to until..._

_**WHAM!**_

_She LITERALLY walked into a tree and banged her head. Unfortunately, she was only feet away from Natsume Hyuuga._

**:-:-:**

Her auburn orbs widened in shock as she desperately looked around at the room for someone, praying and holding on to dear life that it wasn't who she thought it was. She heard mild rustles from the door to her left and just wondered: _how big is this room exactly?_

It was when she got off the bed that she noticed her head was heavily bandaged. She tried to walk steadily but her head was still dizzy from the hit, until she dropped to the floor.

From the door came the man who she was hoping wasn't him.

"Baka! Get up, ichigo-kara! You're still weak, running into a tree like that..."

Although his voice was cold, a hint of concern was clear. She closed her eyes in prayer and just fainted on Natsume's arms again.

**:-:-:**

**The next thing she knew**, she was in bed with someone she barely even knew. (**A.N.nope.there are absolutely NO lemons here.:)**)Her dress was changed into an overlarge t-shirt and jersey shorts. She was already shocked enough with her apparel and to add up to that was the fact that she was currently beside the man she was dying to kill: Natsume Hyuuga.

Her mouth screamed bloody murder and Natsume suddenly jerked awake and covered Mikan's mouth with his hands.

"Geesh! Can't you stay quiet even for just a few minutes?!" he slurred, obviously still sleepy.

"You-! How-?! NO!" she said, stuttering just like before.

"I did not change your clothes. Imai did," he said still in a vague voice.

_Imai._ That name rung a bell in Mikan's thoughts. _Imai...no, it can't be..._

"What's her name again?" she asked Natsume.

"Imai. Imai Hotaru," was his lazy reply.

"No way..."

"You know her, youjo?"

"I don't just know her, she's my bestfriend!"

And she quickly got up from bed and ran like a child towards the door and ran out the corridor. Natsume's eyes widened in shock at what the idiot did again. She didn't even _know_ this place yet, and all she had ever seen was this room, his room! Natsume got up, not minding that he was wearing plain t-shirts and boxer shorts and just put on his bathrobe and came chasing after the brunette, mentally swearing ang scolding himself for having taken the idiot into his custody. He was too soft for his own sake!

**:-:-:**

**Mikan was running along the corridors, **not thinking about where she would find Hotaru's room. She went left, right, left, left, then right, and finally came to a halt at a dead end, where the only thing ahead was a window. She warily approached the window and took a peek, but then, wary turned to happy as she saw a complete view of the city rather than her view at her home.

"You idiot!" yelled an irritated voice, "running around the dormitories at this time of the hour!"

"Well, sorry! I was just so excited!" she fought back, eyes still pinned to the beautiful view. "This is so beautiful."

Natsume saw the sincerity in her eyes and for a moment took a glance out the window as well. And just as he saw the view, his eyes softened and he came beside Mikan and looked as well.

Mikan was rather taken aback by Natsume's sudden actions but enjoyed it just the same.

"I have this kind of view back at my bedroom at home, but it never got this beautiful. And I never really got to share a beautiful view with someone. Thanks for being here," she gently said to the boy beside her.

Natsume was in awe. He saw her clearly with the way she spoke to her. It was like her eyes were a passageway of who she really was. He knew she was different, but he barely knew her, andhe still had a cold facade to maintain. He could never risk himself being revealed to a person he just met.

"Mikan, right?" he asked awkwardly.

Mikan gawked. It was as if something hard entered her throat when he said her name. She didn't know why it affected her so, and as if on cue, her heart was beating faster than usual and she felt heat creeping over her cheeks.

"Yes. Why do you ask?"" she managed to utter back.

"Nothing. Do you know where your dorm is yet? I'll walk you there."

**:-:-:**

**That morning**, Mikan awoke with a start as she heard her alarm clock ringing madly. She checked the time: 3 am. She felt like she had only slept for a few hours and gave her "early bird" image a rest. She went back to sleep, before she heard a voice saying,

"Geesh! You wake up early, ichigo."

"Sorry. Family habits."

And as she dropped her eyelids once more and entered the world of dreams, the dratted alarm clock rang again and to her surprise, the time was 7:05 a.m. ,which practically means she's got only 10 minutes to get dressed.

"Man, what a horrible first day this is going to be!" she yelled as she quickly put on her uniform which she hasn't seen until that morning. She quickly glanced at the uniform and said, "Classy."

She was now ready, wearing a white blouse, black blazers, and a checkered blue pleated mini-skirt that reached a few inches past halfway her thighs, and the time says 7:13. She had a mere 2 minutes to get to classes and add to that was the fact that she didn;t even know where she was headed for. She knew where the building was, but she still hasn't mastered the whole dormitory. Funny how she was able to master the schematics of a 15-storey building with almost 200 rooms and 15 convention halls and can't even remember the way to the exit of a three-storey building. She kept turning anywhere she could turn when,

**BAM!**

She fell butt-first on the floor and had to rub it before looking up at who she had hit, saying, "Gomenasai! Gomenasai!"

"Baka. I knew it. Polka dots today, huh?" said a cold voice. She looked up only to see none other than Natsume Hyuuga. She got up and jerked one eyebrow upwards and coldly replied, "Well, sorry, Hyuuga-san," before fully recognizing the boy's words.

"WHAT? POLKA-ICHIGO-?!_ HYUUGA!!_"

Natsume ignored the comment on his nicknames for her.

"I told you, Mikan. It's Natsume."

"_I KNOW IT'S NATSUME! _NATSUME NO HENTAI!"

She left hastily in the other direction with her chin up. Natsume just smirked, but only too loudly for our brunette to hear. She quickly turned back at the boy and, rather viciously, asked,

"And what are you smirking about?"

Natsume got even more amused, though it was inwardly, of course. He just looked back at the brunette and said,

"Idiot. The exit's this way."

Mikan looked revolted.

**:-:-:**

**Mikan's thoughts...**

**:-:-:**

Okay. Seriously, this _brute_ is really starting to annoy me! Who exactly does he think he is? And why does he think he know everything? Was it _my_ fault that this is the first time I've ever been to this academy? Gawd, he's really irritating! And calling me _Polkadots? Ichigo-kara?_ What on earth did I do to deserve such a treat-

**:-:-:**

**Snapping back to earth...**

**:-:-:**

**WHAM!**

"Owwie!" she said, getting up. Apparently, due to so much thinking, she lost track of what was going on around her that when Natsume finally came to a halt, she clashed with his back.

"Really, how many times do you intend to show that to me, eh?" said Natsume, staring at the fallen brunette.

"I do not show it to you, _pervert_! Really! And how gentlemanly could you really get, not even helping me get up?"

"_Pervert?_" he said bemusingly. "Now where did you get that nickname? It's lame, compared to polkadots and ichigo."

Silence.

"What room are you?" he asked.

"Why do _you_ care? Room 215."

She looked around only to find shock hit her right smack in the face.

"Hello, _classmate,_" he teased her.

For her, him calling her _classmate_ was more vein-throbbing than _polkadots_ or _ichigo. _She was frozen. She could barely move her mouth to retaliate and she could really not believe her rotten luck. _Oh, Kami-sama! Why?_

A split second later, she yelled her fury at the world. Inwardly. She sighed out loud as she walked past Natsume and prepared to enter her class for the first time. Hitching a bright smile on her face, she opened the door and upon seeing her classmates, cheerfully yelled,

"Ohayou!"

The whole class, which had been talking cheerfully a while ago, fell silent at once.

"Mou," she said quietly, and as she bowed her head down, the whole class ran towards her, asking her about her name, where she was from, when she got here.

"You must be Mikan!"

"KAWAII!" said one boy.

"Mi-chan, can I call you that?"

Mikan was the center of attention, and although she was flattered at the sight of these people greeting her, she can't help but notice Natsume's gaze. It was penetrating, but it seemed so gentle, as if it's lost its cold demeanor. And just as she quickly pulled her eyes off him, her eyes found another reason to be happy that day.

"Ho-Ho-HOTARU!!" she yelled, lunging herself forward at a raven-haired girl whose back was turned from her. She was close to hugging her when...

**WHAM!**

"That's the third time today. What a klutz," comented Natsume from somewhere at the back.

"NATSUME! Mou, Hotaru. Don't you remember me?" she asked, averting her gaze from Natsume to Hotaru. She had just received a blow to the head that was not that storng yet hard enough to make her fall to the ground for the third time that day.

"15 seconds to state your business," was her mere reply.

"Hmm. Coldpurpleplushywatermelon-eatingmachinealsoknownasmylonglostbestfriend," she said in one breath. The girl, who hadn't turned her head once since Mikan's attempt to hug her, slowly turned her head in a robot-like way.

"Mikan?" she asked, voice cold, face stoic.

"Yes, Hotaru. It's me."

**Wham!**

"Idiot. Why didn't you come much earlier?" she said, hugging the brunette, although her face was still cold and stoic. A hint of teardrop showed itself, but she was good. She kept it from falling.

"Enough of the nostalgic moment, please! It's time to introduce our new student here at the academy!" said a familiar, sickeningly cheery voice.

The class all moaned in disgust at what the teacher was wearing: shorts that reached halfway through his thighs, a long sleeved fit shirt, and his hair tied in a neat ponytail.

"Mi-chan, please intrduce yourself now," said Narumi, nudging Mikan's shoulders. She was still locked in a tight embrace with Hotaru.

"Oh, right," she said, flashing another big smile. Natsume, who had been in the back, felt a great leap in his heart, which took him quite by surprise.

"Sakura Mikan, 15 years of age, simple girl, musician, inventor." was all she said. Narumi looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged.

"Class, it's time you introduced yourself to her. Let' start, shall we, eh, Anna?"

"Umenomiya Anna, 15, a culinary addict," said a girl with long curly pink locks and bright blue eyes.

"Ogasawara Nonoko, 14 and a half, chemistry," said a girl with straight navy-blue hair and dark blue eyes, who, by the looks of it, was Anna's twin.

"Tobita Yuu, 16, illusionist-magician," said a blonde boy with butterscotch-brown eyes and glasses. Mikan squealed "Iinchou!" and the boy smiled sweetly.

"Kokoro Yomi, 15, psychic. Kidding. I just can read minds. That's all," said a boy with a happy smile. Mikan yelled "Koko!" this time.

"Call me Mochu. Athlete," said a semi-bald boy with dark-brown hair.

"Nogi Ruka, 16, veterinarian aspirant," said a boy with a bunny in his arms. He had blonde hair, beautiful azure orbs, and he was sitting next to Natsume, although he seemed gentle, seeing as he was patting the rabbit so sweetly.

"Ruka-pyon!" yelle Mikan.

"You know who I am, you know how old I am, you know what I do," said Hotaru shortly.

"Shouda Sumire, 15, loves cats and dogs, fashion guru, Natsume-kun's love interest," said a green-haired green eyed girl. Most of the girls in the class puked upon hearing the words "fashio guru" and literally dropped dead on the words "Natsume-kun's love interest," and even Natsume seemed disgusted.

"Permy," said Mikan, giggling. The girl turned red with rage, in contrast with her green-ness.

The whole class continued the inriduction for the next ten minutes, and finally...

"Tch. Pathetic. Hyuuga Natsume. 16. Fire manipulator."

Mikan rolled her eyes and just said, "More like a plain _manipulator_."

Natsume heard this and drawled lazily, "Better than ichigo-kara."

"Pervert!"

"Polkadots."

"Hentai."

"Idiot. Pervert and hentai are the same," said Natsume, smirking at Mikan.

"No they're not! They have different spellings!"

Now it was Natsume's turn to roll his eyes. He was getting impatient. He rose from his seat and approached Mikan with his hands in his pocket. He was taller than Mikan, because Mikan was 5'4 and he was a 6 flat.

"You're not giving up, are you, youjo?" said Natsume a hint of amusement in his voice, still maintaining the cold facade.

"Nope," said Mikan simply, giving him a sweetly sarcastic smile.

"Idiot."

"Jerk."

"You're waging a war here, youjo."

"Bring it."

Both were staring at each other with death glares as the whole class waited with bated breath. It was Narumi who had enough courage to break the tension between the two.

"Well, that's that. I see you two have met, and as such, I'm appointing _you_, Natsume-kun, to be her official partner!"

Mikan turned her head to Narumi and froze while Natsume rolled his eyes in boredom and said, "Oh, great. Stuck with an idiot."

Mikan, on the other hand, was still frozen, until...

"Boo," said Natsume, and Mikan came out of her revere and let out a bloodcurdling, earsplitting screech that lasted for ten minutes until Natsume had enough sense to keep her quiet...

No...he didn't slam her mouth shut...nor did he cover her mouth with his hands...he did something that made all eyes open in shock, and Sumire yelling, "NOOO!!"

He...

**:-:-:****:-:-:****:-:-:****:-:-:****:-:-:**

**HI.MIT.SU!**

**:-:-:****:-:-:****:-:-:****:-:-:****:-:-:**

**So sorry 'bout the cliffhanger...  
Anyways, I guess you all have an idea as to what he did...  
Don't you?  
Hope you liked it!  
Ja ne!  
**

**:-:-:****:-:-:****:-:-:****:-:-:****:-:-:**

.a.s.h.


	3. Making Sure

**

* * *

Chapter 3: Making Sure**

* * *

**:--:**

**NO!  
NATSUME DID NOT KISS HER EVERYONE.  
SERIOUSLY, I won't make it _that_ predictable!  
Oh, for Kami-sama's sake.  
Just...keep reading, ne?  
And sorry for the update.  
It took so long...like...3 months, ne?  
too busy...  
gomenasai...**

**:--:**

"Hotaru, it hurts! Ow!Ow!" said Mikan. They were in Hotaru's room, and Hotaru was treating her rather severe bruises.

"You idiot. It's your fault so bear with it," said Hotaru in her ever cold voice.

"I just don't get it! How could he possibly...do that? He's _that_ strong that he could actually _lift_ a person and thrust her?" said Mikan, putting on a disbelieving face.

"Well, yeah, he _is_ that strong seeing as he _just_ did that. What part of reality don't you get, ne, baka?" asked Hotaru, still impassive, but with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Mikan just pouted at Hotaru and turned her face to the side to allow Hotaru to treat her wounds there as she painfully (literally and mentally) reminisced on the happenings that afternoon.

**:--:****:--:****:--:****:--:**

**_"AAAHHH!" came Sumire's screech. She was lifted high into the air by Natsume, although her scream was more of excited rather than frightened. She was thinking of a different thing...until with an enormous heave, she was sent flying through the air, directly towards Mikan. This time, realizing the reason why Natsume lifted her, her scream was more on fright rather than pleasantry._**

**_"NATSUME-KUUN!!!!!!!!"_**

**_Natsume, after throwing Sumire at Mikan, merely smirked at Mikan's widened orbs and left the room. Just as he closed the door, he heard the squeal of pain followed by the bombardment of swearwords and curses aimed at no one else but him._**

**_For the first time in years, he smiled._**

**:--:****:--:****:--:****:--:**

"He is SUCH AN...oh never mind," Sumire whined. She was in Koko's room, and the latter was nursing her. She lay a crumpled heap on his bed.

"Permy-,"

"DO **NOT** call me PERMY!"

"Fine, fine...Sumi then. You know Natsume. He's really just like that," he said teasingly, massaging Sumire's foot.

"It's just that...it hurts, Koko," said Sumire, her usually large and booming voice now hushed, and her aggressive eyes were now somber and droopy.

Koko was taken aback by this sudden change in Permy. He saw right through her eyes and knew immediately what was wrong with her.

He will take her out tonight. This midnight.

And he subconsciously smiled at the thought. _I wish I could tell her I love her..._and his smile suddenly turned into a sad grin.

* * *

Natsume was in his room, seemingly reading manga. It was a cover-up, because in truth, he was actually thinking of a certain brunette, whose flashy smile he never can get rid of. He's been thinking of her for hours now, and he can't seem to find out where the girl gets enough strength to _resist **HIM**._ He was just so...interested...no, better yet, attracted.

His train of thoughts, however, was interrupted when a loud knock was heard. He was half-expecting it, so all he said was two words.

"Get in."

The door creaked open and there he saw, standing by his doorway, his bestfriend. The boy with the blue eyes, holding his rabbit.

* * *

**Ruka's Point of View**

* * *

I was really surprised at what Natsume did this morning. It didn't bother me at the slightest, but it did intrigue me. He never did that, unless he saw someone worthy of being done so.

I wasn't talking about _Permy_ sent hurtling through the air. I'm talking about the new girl, Mikan, getting so much attention from him. It seemed unlikely that Natsume would notice a girl; he's always been uncaring about that.

I was supposed to be headed for Imai's room to ask her not to sell the new batch of pictures she took. Obviuosly she was gonna sell it to fangirls again, much to my chagrin, but curiosity got the better of me, and my feet redirected me to Natsume's room.

I knocked, and of course, I heard the familiar "get in" reply. I entered, and there he was, reading his manga, although he was glassy-eyed. Obviously thinking of something...or some_one_. I cleared my throat.

"Natsume?" I began, merely to see whether he was listening or not. He gave a low grunt.

I take that as a yes. And so, I plowed on with my speech. If it was a speech.

"Why did you just do that?"

Natsume looked up and I knew at once he was trying to read me. And he did, for my eyes were full of wonder and curiosity and...amusement.

"What are you so amused about?" he asked coldly, still gazing into my eyes.

"You like her," I said ever so plainly. Natsume's eyes widened a bit, but his face stayed passive nevertheless.

"Natsume, you do, don't you?" It was not a question. I was stating it bluntly. I knew.

Natsume just looked away smirking, and in a few short words, his answer to my "question" became clear.

"More or less."

* * *

**Waah!!  
SHORT CHAPPIE.  
I am VERY SORRY.  
I'll make it up to you, I promise. :)**

**a.s.h  
**


End file.
